Carmen Romeu as Armida in Luca Ronconi’s production of Armida for ROF2014.
The beautiful music that accompanies this scene may be misleading.The direction makes it quite clear that Armida is having nothing of Dido’s hopeless love.

In addition to Paolo Bordogna ( class of 1998 ) who will be Bartolo in Il Barbiere di Siviglia, three members of the 2013 class of the Accademia Rossiniana are back at ROF 2014. This time they will be performing in the Festival’s principal operas. Vassilis Kavayas will take on the role of Eustazio in Armida. Fellow graduates Dempsey C’Rivera, Sergio Vitale, and Dimitri Phkaladze will appear in Aureliano in Palmyra as Oraspe, Licinio, and the Gran Sacerdote. The Accademia continues to nuture young singers well!

The ROF’s Academia Rossiniana – a two week total immersion in Rossini singing – concluded on the 18th of July with a concert in the Teatro Sperimentale in Pesaro. The school has students selected from around the world studying under the direction of Alberto Zedda with the participation of the head of ROF, Gianfranco Marioti, as well as some of the stage directors and artists involved in this season’s operas.

This year, one of the highlights was a master class given by Juan Diego Florez.

Selected graduates will appear in two performances of Il Viaggio in Reims in the Teatro Rossini on August 13th and 16th.

Americans have been part of the fabric of the Rossini Opera Festival from the beginning. Artists such as Samuel Ramey, Marilyn Horne, June Anderson, Chris Merritt, Rockwell Blake, Renee Fleming, and Bruce Ford are some of the best known. In recent years Joyce DiDonato, Lawrence Brownlee, Jennifer Larmore, and Amanda Forsythe have brought their talents to Pesaro.
This year, Americans Micheal Spyres and Will Crutchfield will be part of Aureliano in Palmyra in its first performances based on the recently completed critical edition. Spyres and Crutchfield were part of the team that presented Ciro in Babylonia at ROF 2012. They were joined by Jessica Pratt and Ewa Podles. Pratt will be starring in Aureliano, and Podles will be giving a concert at the Teatro Rossini during the Festival.
The stars always seem to align in Pesaro.

We are thrilled to launch this website at the start of the Rossini Opera Festival 2014 in Pesaro, Italy, Rossini’s hometown.

Our hope is to create a place where visitors can explore the rich legacy of Rossini and become acquainted with the unique music festival, which bears his name.

We are supported by the American Friends of the Rossini Opera Festival. During this year’s Festival, August 10 -22, we will concentrate primarily on the activities in Pesaro. After the Festival, we will expand our focus to include “all things Rossini” in the United States. It is the mission of the Friends to promote the Festival while at the same time encouraging the broader appreciation of Rossini’s music.

We hope you will participate by leaving comments, alerting us to upcoming Rossini performances in your area, and spreading the word about our activities. We will do our part by creating a space where you can learn about Rossini, about his music, and about the many people who make it come alive.

You are invited to join us by filling on the contact form on this site . You can follow us on Twitter @Rossiniamerica, and you may write for more information info@rossiniamerica.org.

Finally, please consider joining the Friends of the Rossini Opera Festival. By becoming a Friend you will help ensure that Rossini’s cultural legacy will thrive and continue to bring so much enjoyment to the world.